EVANDER – Six foreigners appeared in the Evander Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 1 February, in connection with the kidnapping of an Ethiopian tuck shop owner from eMbalenhle.
The shopkeeper, Mr Tamre Seume (36), was snatched from outside his small shop on 23 February and held for ransom of R3-million.
A crowd of Ethiopians accompanied Mr Seume to court on Friday, demanding that the kidnappers not be granted bail. The group also handed a petition to the court.
Mr Seume, with the help of his friend, Mr David Desta told The Echo on Friday of his ordeal.
He was at his shop dealing with a delivery, when three men pulled up in blue VW Polo. They jumped out, pulled a gun on Mr Seume and forced him into the back seat where they pulled a hood over his head.
“I asked why they were doing this and was told that they wanted money.”
Mr Seume heard the men talk about driving to Nigel.
“They then stopped and forced me into the boot of the car,” recalled Mr Seume.
“I was blindfolded, tied up, tortured and starved for days,” he said.
Mr Seume was held hostage for a week in Bekkersdal, a township near Westonaria and Randfontein.
He said his captors forced him to phone his brothers and plead with them to pay the ransom or he would be killed.
Mr Tarkne Seume, one his brothers, explained that the other brothers and himself own a few tuck shops in the area, including Standerton.
“The kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of R3-million, but later lowered it to R1-million. We were very worried, because we do not have this kind of money. We turned to our communities and church for help,” said Mr Tarkne Seume.
The one man that the Seume brothers thought was their friend and who was above suspicion, was a businessman from Kinross who allegedly rallied the church congregation to raise money for the ransom.
A special task team that included local police, the Secunda dog unit, and the police’s national units working on kidnapping investigations and organised crime, worked around the clock to find Mr Seume.
They arranged a ransom drop and then snared a Zimbabwean woman and an Ethiopian man who were supposed to collect the ransom.
Mr Seume was finally saved on 30 January.
The special task team arrested the Kinross businessman, a Ghanaian and two other Ethiopians.
The arrests were executed in Bekkersdal, Springs, Delmas and Kinross.
Attending the court proceedings on Friday was Mr Shaun Hamilton who represents the Ethiopian embassy.
He was at the court on direct instruction from the ambassador of Ethiopia.
“This has become a matter of priority for the ambassador. We noticed that kidnappers have been targeting Ethiopian nationals at an alarming rate the past few months.
Ms Josephina Rumbidzai Kaphunde (24) and Messrs Mohamed Gamede (28), Eedasa Gare Desta (18), Benson Kwame Nsika (34), Gbril Amon Sheko (18) and Ali Mohammed
Ahmed (34) were remanded in police custody until 8 February for interpreters to translate the court proceedings in Amharic.
